People are “really annoyed” the government has not always kept its promises, a Tory minister has said as he acknowledged the election was “tough” after 14 years in power.
Speaking to Sky News Johnny Mercer admitted the campaign had been “up and down”, but insisted the polls showing the party lagging behind were not reflected on the doorstep.
He warned voters against giving Labour “unchecked power” by backing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, after a poll put his party one percentage point above the Conservatives.
It comes after a survey by YouGov for The Times put Reform UK at 19%, compared to the Conservatives at 18%.
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The veterans minister and former army officer, who is battling to be re-elected to the Devon seat of Plymouth Moor View, also disputed the findings of an IPSOS survey that indicated six in 10 people would accept higher taxes if it meant more money for the NHS.
He made his comments as Rishi Sunak remained away from the campaign trail for another day after attending the G7 summit in Italy.
The prime minister was also due to attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony to celebrate the official birthday of the King before jetting off again to attend a Ukraine Peace summit in Switzerland.
Mr Mercer told Sky News: “I’ve never found six out of ten people on the doors who want to pay more in tax in Plymouth.
“I respect all these surveys. I respect all the polls. There’s one poll that matters on 4 July.
“I don’t find six out of 10 people want to pay more tax. I find they want to bring their taxes down.
“They want better public services. They understand the challenge in the NHS.
“They also understand it’s got record funding and record numbers of doctors and nurses. But we’re up against a huge rise in demand, particularly under the pandemic, which is really, really difficult.”
He added:…
